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Sleeping Disorders

Sleeping Disorders

From the NHS:

Stages of Sleep
Sleep is a state of consciousness, which gives your body time to rest. While you are asleep, your body goes through different sleep stages in a cycle that lasts approximately 90 minutes. Your body may go through five of these cycles in a night. The sleep stages are:

How much sleep should you get?
Every individual is different, so it is hard to define what normal sleep is for you.

Factors influencing the amount of sleep you need include your age, lifestyle, diet and environment. For example, newborn babies can sleep for 16 hours a day, while school-age children need an average of 10 hours sleep.

Most healthy adults sleep for an average of seven to nine hours a night. As you get older, it is normal to need less sleep. Most people over 70 need less than six hours sleep a night, and they tend to be light sleepers.

INSOMNIA
Insomnia is difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep for long enough to feel refreshed the next morning. This happens despite having enough opportunity to sleep.

Nearly everyone has problems sleeping at some point in their life, and it is thought that a third of people in the UK have bouts of insomnia. Insomnia appears to be more common in women and more likely to occur with age.

How it may affect you:
The most common problem in young people with insomnia is difficulty falling asleep (sleep-onset insomnia). An insomniac may also experience:

* waking in the night (most common in older people)
* not feeling refreshed after sleep and not being able to function normally during the day
* feeling irritable and tired and finding it difficult to concentrate
* waking when they have been disturbed from sleep by pain or noise
* waking early in the morning

Why it happens:
There are a number of possible causes for insomnia, such as anxiety, a disrupted sleeping environment, or an underlying physical condition or mental health problem.

If you have difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep, then consider seeing your GP to discuss your problem.

Resolving your insomnia:
The first step in treating insomnia is for your GP to diagnose and treat any underlying health condition, such as anxiety, that is causing your insomnia.

Your GP may also advise you on changes you can make to sleep better (good sleep hygiene) and, if your insomnia is severely affecting you during the day, they may prescribe you a short course of sleeping tablets.

Symptoms of insomnia:
Depending on the type of sleeping problem you have, symptoms of insomnia can include:

* lying awake for a long time at night before falling asleep
* waking up several times in the middle of the night
* waking up early in the morning (and not being able to get back to sleep)
* feeling tired and not refreshed by sleep
* not being able to function properly during the day, and having difficulty concentrating
* being irritable

Causes of insomnia:
There are many possible causes of insomnia, outlined below.

Stressful event:
Some people's insomnia starts in response to a stressful event and continues even when the stress has been resolved. This is because they have learnt to associate the sleeping environment with being alert.

Causes of stress can be:
* situational - for example, worrying about work, money or health
* environmental, such as noise
* death or illness of a loved one
* Psychiatric problem
* Underlying mental health problems can affect your sleeping patterns, including:
mood disorders, such as depression or bipolar disorder
anxiety disorders, such as generalised anxiety, panic disorder or post- traumatic stress disorder
psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia

Physical condition:
Insomnia can be caused by an underlying physical condition, including:

* heart disease, such as angina or heart failure
* respiratory disease, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma
* neurological disease, such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease
* hormone problems, such as an overactive thyroid
* joint or muscle problems, such as fibromyalgia or arthritis
* gastrointestinal disease, such as gastro-oesophageal reflux disease or * irritable bowel syndrome
* problems with the genital or urinary organs, such as incontinence or an * enlarged prostate
* sleep disorders, such as restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy or sleep apnoea
* chronic (long-term) pain

Diagnosing insomnia:
If you have difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep, consider seeing your GP to discuss your problem.

Your GP will want to know about your sleeping routines, how much alcohol and caffeine you drink each day, and your general lifestyle habits, such as diet and exercise.

They will check your medical history for any illnesses or medications that may be contributing to your insomnia. They will also ask if you are taking any other substances, such as recreational drugs.

Your GP may suggest you keep a sleep diary (see box), which can help you understand the pattern of your insomnia.

Usually, you and your GP will be able to identify a cause for your insomnia by doing these investigations.

The aim is to identify and treat factors that contribute to your insomnia (which might include health problems). Your GP may, for example, ask you to make some lifestyle changes or prescribe you medication for a condition.

Once these factors have been successfully addressed, the insomnia will often disappear without further medical help.

Treating insomnia:
The first step in treating insomnia is to diagnose and treat any underlying medical condition that is causing your insomnia. Once your condition is treated, your insomnia will often disappear without further medical help.

If further medical help is needed, the next step will depend on whether you have short-term or long-term insomnia.

If you have short-term insomnia (lasting less than four weeks):
* your GP will advise you on good sleep hygiene
* if your insomnia is severely affecting you during the day, they may prescribe you a short course of sleeping tablets

If you have long-term insomnia:
* your GP will recommend cognitive and behavioural treatments
* they will advise you on good sleep hygiene
* you may be prescribed a short course of sleeping tablets for immediate relief or to manage a particularly bad period of insomnia, although these are not recommended for long-term use

If you are over 55, your GP may consider prescribing you melatonin.

All these treatments are described below.

Good sleep hygiene:
Sleep hygiene aims to make you more aware of the different factors that may affect sleep. Your GP may advise you to:

* establish fixed times for going to bed and waking up (and avoid sleeping in after a poor night's sleep)
* try to relax before going to bed
* maintain a comfortable sleeping environment (not too hot, cold, noisy or bright)
* avoid napping during the day
* avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol within six hours of going to bed
* avoid exercise within four hours of bedtime (although exercise earlier in the day is beneficial)
* avoid eating a heavy meal late at night
* avoid watching or checking the clock throughout the night
* only use the bedroom for sleep and sex

Cognitive and behavioural treatments:
* Cognitive and behavioural treatments aim to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviours that may be contributing to your insomnia.

Your doctor may recommend any of the following for you:
* Stimulus-control therapy, which aims to help you associate the bedroom with sleep and establish a consistent sleep/wake pattern.
* Sleep restriction therapy, where you limit the amount of time spent in bed to the actual amount of time spent asleep, creating mild sleep deprivation. Sleep time is then increased as your sleeping improves.
* Relaxation training, which aims to reduce tension or minimise intrusive thoughts that may interfere with sleep.
* Paradoxical intention, which means you try to stay awake and avoid any intention to fall asleep. It is only used if you have trouble getting to sleep, but not maintaining sleep.
* Biofeedback, where sensors connected to a machine are placed on your body to measure body responses, such as muscle tension or heart rate. The machine then produces pictures or sounds to help you control your breathing and body responses.
* Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which aims to examine and change your beliefs and attitudes about insomnia

These techniques may be carried out by a specially trained GP, although you may be referred to a clinical psychologist for CBT.

Sleeping tablets:
Sleeping tablets (hypnotics) are medications that encourage sleep. They may be considered:
* if your symptoms are particularly severe
* to ease short-term insomnia
* if the non-drug treatments mentioned above have failed to have an effect

However, doctors are usually reluctant to prescribe this type of medication as they relieve symptoms but do not treat the cause of your insomnia. If you have long-term insomnia, sleeping tablets are unlikely to help. Your doctor may consider referring you to a clinical psychologist to discuss other approaches to treatment.

Melatonin (Circadin):
Medicines containing melatonin have been shown to be effective in providing short-term relief for insomnia. Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that helps regulate the sleep cycle (known as the circadian rhythm).

At present, the only licensed medicine containing melatonin for the treatment of insomnia is called Circadin. Circadin is available only on prescription for people who are 55 or over.

Preventing insomnia:
Some simple measures may help you to get a good night's sleep. Try the below methods for at least three to four weeks. When you find that you are asleep for most of the time you are in bed, try going to bed 15 minutes earlier, but make sure you get up at the same time.

Daytime habits:
* Set a specific time for getting up each day. Stick to these times, seven days a week, even if you feel you have not had enough sleep. This should help you sleep better at night.
* Do not take a nap during the day.
* Take daily exercise, such as 30 minutes walking or cycling, at least four hours before you are planning to go to bed. This gives your body temperature a chance to cool down.

Bedtime habits:
* Stop drinking tea and coffee four hours before bedtime.
* Avoid drinking alcohol and smoking, as these are also stimulants. Alcohol may make you sleepy at first but will wake you up when the effects have worn off.
* Do not eat a big meal or spicy foods just before bedtime. A small snack that contains tryptophan (a natural sleep-promoting amino acid) may help, such as turkey, banana or fish.
* Only ever go to bed when you are feeling tired.
* Try to create a bedtime routine, such as a bath and warm milky drink every night. These activities will then be associated with sleep and will cause drowsiness.
* If it takes longer than 20 or 30 minutes to get to sleep, do not lie in bed feeling anxious about sleeping. Instead, get up and go to another room for a short period and do something else, such as reading or watching television, then try again.
* Do not watch the clock as this will only make you anxious.
* Write a list of your worries and any ideas to solve them; then forget about it until morning.

Bedroom environment:
* Use thick blinds or curtains or wear an eye mask if the early morning sunlight or bright streetlamps affect your sleep.
* Wear ear plugs if noise is a problem.
* Do not use the bedroom for anything other than sleeping or sex. Do not watch television, make phone calls, eat or work while you are in bed.
* Make sure you have a comfortable mattress, a pillow you like, and adequate bed covers for the time of year.